Under a Silver Moon
by OnyxHarmony
Summary: This is a fanfiction set far into the future of the Grumpy Zane timeline on tumblr. Deity and Cole are married, their biological son Ryan is about eight by now. Somewhere off in the Sea of Sand, former Sons of Garmadon member Ultra Violet is dehydrated and close to mentally snapping. Saved by a cloaked stranger, what will happen to Ultra while she's under his care?
1. Strangers In the Desert

Ultra Violet wiped her face as she trudged through the Sea of Sand. Ever since the Sons of Garmadon split many years ago, she'd been on the move. She didn't know quite where she was going, but since leaving the city she'd realized that being intimidating wasn't always an easy way to get what she wanted.

The people of Ninjago had gained more confidence over the years, and some had started defending their villages. Inspired by the ninja, she supposed. Violet groaned as she looked up at the sun, letting out a cough. Her throat was so dry..and the sun was getting hotter. "This is such bullshit...too much heat is bad for my skin." She chuckled to herself, moving her head back to watch the direction she was walking. "Ohh I have no idea where I'm going.." She sang to herself in a slightly delirious tone, wiping the sweat off her face again.

"Man..sand is starting to look really delicious right now. Can you eat sand?" She changed her tone of voice, gasping. "Why I don't know, Violet. Can you?" The sun, coupled with dehydration and lack of food was starting to get to her. "Just..a little further. Maybe I'll find a village out here?" Ultra silently walked along, feeling her energy dropping. She tried to keep her mind busy as her walking slowed, thinking about the parts of Ninjago she'd traveled to over the years. She'd been to Toxic Bogs, despite the scent of it making her sick. It had been a decent place to take shelter. Though..she swore someone had been watching her. The woman watching her may have been a hallucination, but maybe not. Light brown hair and blue eyes..flowers in her hair. Violet chuckled to herself a little, dropping down into the sand and sitting down. She didn't have the energy to keep going. Falling backward in the sand, she couldn't help but start laughing to herself.

"It appears I'm going to die out here..such a shame..ah well, maybe I'll see that beautiful hallucination before I go." As Violet stares into the sun with a half lidded gaze, a cloaked stranger is approaching from the east.

Reval frowns when he sees the woman lying in the sand, breathing shallowly. This woman seems terribly dehydrated, and perhaps a little delusional. She is talking to herself after all. Adjusting his hood and carefully walking toward her, Reval takes a closer look as he peers over her. Goodness, she's so out of it that she doesn't even see Reval watching her. "Miss? Can you hear me? I-" Reval let out a gasp as the woman's head lolled to the side suddenly and her eyes closed. Picking her up in his arms, Reval carried her to a nearby rock wall and silently waited.

A voice behind the rock is raspy, questioning Reval. _"Tell me brother, why do we gather?"_

Reval listens to the voice, shifting the unconscious woman in his arms and responding to the question. _"We gather so that we may prepare to summon an ally. One to right the order of balance. To destroy for us."_

The voice behind the rock wall pauses, seeming satisfied. So he asks another question. " _And what will the summoned bring about, brother?"_

Reval grunts and shifts the woman again, taking a breath to relax before answering. _"The summoned will bring about a child. A child conceived by a chosen bride. One born of Oni blood, to infiltrate the population and destroy it."_

Satisfied with the answer, Elder Curth slides the rock door to the side and lets Reval in, sliding the door shut behind them as he eyes the woman in his arms suspiciously. "Reval! What is the meaning of this?" The old man asks, glaring at Reval as they walk through the underground tunnels. "Bringing a woman here? Are you mad? We never bring females here!"

Reval frowns, shifting the unknown woman to rest on his shoulder. "Forgive me, Elder Curth but when I found her she seemed weak and...rather delusional before she passed out. It appears she hasn't eaten or received proper care in quite some time. I thought she would be a good candidate for-"

Curth begins chuckling. "Oh my..I see, I see..you think she could be the bride..we will have to work to..acquaint her with our ways..you claim she was delusional when you found her?"

Reval nods, heading into an empty resting chamber with Curth. "Yes Elder. You know I always tell the truth. She was staring up at the sky and talking to herself about a woman with flowers in her hair."

Curth rose an eyebrow as he helped lay her down, chuckling a little. "My, she must have been hallucinating."

Reval shrugged, looking over the woman. "I wonder what her name is.."

Curth scoffed and shook his head. "As if that matters. Her name may be changed, in time. Tell me, shall we use it now or later?" Curth pulls a small, capped syringe from his cloak.

Reval tilts his head at it. He knows what that is..it's Orphenophin. It makes the user fairly susceptible to persuasion. Crossing his arms, Reval considers what will happen when this woman wakes and is given food and water. She'll be ready to flee, won't she?

Curth chuckled a little, offering Reval the syringe. "You do it. I will have the others prepare food and water for this woman. You and Felis will oversee her..recovery."

Reval silently takes the syringe, carefully sitting down next to the sleeping woman. "Go, Elder. I will do as I am asked."

Curth shakes his head and crosses his arms. "I will oversee the administration of the drug, and then I will go."

Reval rolled his eyes, pulling the hood of his cloak down and grabbing an alcohol wipe packet. He sets the syringe aside and tears the packet open, cleaning the selected injection site. Taking the cap off the syringe, Reval carefully administers the drug.

Satisfied with Reval's work, Curth leaves the chamber as Felis comes in with a tray of food and a pitcher of water.

Felis is a very silent man, often only speaking one word replies and gesturing with his hands. He carefully pulls the hood of his cloak down after setting the food and water aside, gesturing to the woman sleeping on the bed.

Reval shrugs and goes over to the table, carefully examining what foods were brought. It's light fare, such as fruit and raw vegetables. Good. This will not upset her stomach nor mess with the drug in her system. "I found her lying in the desert. Someone so weak will be easily coaxed into being a bride, don't you think?"

Felis only let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. He didn't think very highly of some of his cult brothers.

Reval chuckled and stole an apple off the tray, taking a bite out of it and chewing. After swallowing his bite, he points at Felis. "No matter what you think, we have to follow orders. And uh..don't tell Elder Curth I stole an apple, alright?"

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Felis goes to sit in the corner of the room and wait for this woman to wake up.

Shaking his head and cleaning the room up after eating the apple, Reval leaves the room for a moment to speak with the tailor of the cult. Bahsis was a quiet man..but for a much different reason than Felis. Bahsis had joined the cult in the early days, and the old man had his tongue cut out for disobedience during that time. As well as having two of his fingers removed when he failed to stitch a seam correctly. Reval took a breath and gently knocked on the door, only opening when he heard Bahsis knock on his sewing table twice as confirmation that he could enter. "Bahsis, do you have the new cloak ready?"

The old man slowly lifts his head nods, gesturing to the cloak hanging gently on a hook in the corner.

"Excellent..I'm sure Elder Curth will be pleased with your cooperation. Thank you." His only answer is a nod. Heading back to the room while carrying the new cloak for the mystery woman, he pauses as he comes in. The woman is slowly waking up, being offered water by Felis. Setting the cloak down and gently sitting on the bed, Reval smiles as he speaks to her. His voice is so..calm and friendly. "It's so nice to see you awake, Miss. We were so worried about you! How do you feel?"


	2. It is Time

Reval had been tasked with marking down a chronicle of sorts, of how long the Bride had been here in the cult, and how well their efforts to summoning the One had been going. He was..unsure of this. Every time he'd voiced concern about the necessity of this 'plan', he was immediately reassured that it was the only way.

Partaking in this felt...wrong. Like a bad dream.

Shaking his head and flexing his hand, he began writing down documentation. Today was supposed to be the sixth attempt at summoning, and he'd had a sinking feeling in his gut since he woke up this morning.

And the dreams.

The dreams had been plaguing him in the week leading up to today.

He'd been flying, soaring high above the sands. Every time he looked down in the dream, he could see a set of claws. Was that him? Or was he merely fantasizing about life outside of the cult? Reval couldn't even remember the day he joined. Everything was..blurry in that memory.

Someone clearing their throat snapped him from his thoughts.

"Reval, are you ready to head to the chambers?" Elder Curth had come into the archives, now standing and crossing his arms. "Do you have doubts again, Brother?"

Brother.

The word made his skin crawl, because he knew no familial bond would ever stand behind it.

Reval cleared his throat. "Of course not, Elder." He bent slightly forward in a bow, the best he could offer with a book in front of him. Every time he was around Curth, his arms burned. As though searing metal chains had been placed on them. He never knew why. "Is the summoning chamber ready?"

Curth nodded, gesturing to the door. "We are merely waiting for the chronicler. We will need someone to record the event, after all. Azron has specifically requested that you stand at his side."

There was a silence between them, as Reval closed his book and began walking out of the room.

Upon arrival in the chambers, he noticed Felis already standing in the circle, ready to bring the One from the 'other side' as Azron had often called it. Even Bahsis the tailor was here, making last minute adjustments to the Bride's ceremonial robes.

She had such a content smile plastered on her face, humming to herself and trying to stay still for Bahsis.

Reval knew it was all the work they'd put into her over the last six months that caused the smiles. It made him uneasy, and the feeling only intensified the closer he got to the circle. Setting his book down on the podium, he opened it to a fresh page. He nearly tore the page when a hand patted him on the back.

"Today will be wondrous, don't you think so?"

Azron. He knew that voice anywhere. It was like a shot of pain everytime the bastard spoke. He wish he knew why Curth and Azron caused him so much pain.

"I suppose so, Master. Are you certain we're ready? We've been 'prepared' before, and it didn't go well. Last month we lost two members from the dark ooze and-"

Azron scoffed and rolled his eyes. "They served their purpose, just as you will." He turned to look at the Bride, watching Ronok combing her hair. "Must we have such frivolity? She only has one purpose."

"Leave him be, perhaps the Summoned will appreciate the work Ronok put into the Bride's hair." Reval snorted, scribbling the date and time down on the clean page. "I think it looks nice."

Azron groaned in annoyance and left to take his place at the head on the circle.

Felis left the circle for a brief moment, coming over to Reval and gently placing his hand on his shoulder.

Looking up from his writing, he saw the softened look on his face. He was worried.

"Why are you worried about me?" Reval looked confused. Felis had become rather...soft and kind toward him these past few months. Was he finally being friendly? Or was it something else? Reval chuckled to himself. Probably was just being a good friend.

Felis gently rubbed his shoulder and gestured to the summoning circle, then back to Reval.

"Of course I'm worried this will end in disaster again, we lost Colis and Hort last month and-"

He looked around briefly and then hugged Reval, resting his head on his shoulder. Felis gave him a soft squeeze and seemed to be shaking slightly.

Reval gently patted his friend's back, trying to calm him. They were all scared. Some had begun to question the validity of Azron's plan. "Hey, hey it's alright-"

Felis buried his head in Reval's neck and mumbled something that Reval couldn't quite understand. Letting out a shaky breath, he pulled away and wiped his eyes under his hood. He looked at Reval and opened his mouth to speak-but hesitated, only to close it again. Felis sighed. He didn't speak often, and now he'd been too much of a coward to speak the truth. Just in case this didn't work again. Instead, he patted Reval's shoulder. "I hope to come out of this unscathed with you, Reval."

"I as well, my friend." He could've sworn he saw Felis cringe when he said that. Strange.

Loud clapping got everyone's attention.

Azron cleared his throat. "Preparations are done, and it is finally time. Felis, please escort the Bride to the center and then take your place." He gestured to those standing in the circle, then to himself. "Today we attempt once more to summon the One, so that he and the bride may bring forth the Infant. The process of summoning may be painful, but I have faith in you all."

Quiet murmuring spread around the circle, only to stop once Felis was back in his spot and Azron cleared his throat. "Chant, chant so that he may hear us."

Did they even know who 'he' was? Of course not. Reval had many a retort for Azron, but he held his tongue and went back to writing.

As the chanting began, one of the other members stepped into the circle and began cutting the palms of all the people in the circle, including the Bride. Each turned their hands over and let it drop onto the engraving on the floor.

The chanting got louder.

The floor began to glow.

Smoke rose from the markings on the floor and flooded the room, causing Reval to cover his mouth with his sleeve and cough.

One by one, the dark ooze began to take hold of the chanters, pouring from eyes and mouths. Some began to shake, others collapsed. Despite this, they continued to chant.

The room fell silent when a snarl echoed from the smoke. Had they done it?

The Bride let out a shriek, and then a giggle.

When the smoke cleared, there he stood. Only at half power, but still almost as tall as the ceiling.

Good, Azron thought to himself. Half power was all they needed.

The oni lifted the Bride's chin, purring as though he were pleased. Then, he stopped and glanced at his surroundings. A wild look of hunger was in his eyes.

Azron knew that look. He must feed. "Take what you wish, Summoned One. We are but your humble worshipers."

He scoffed at Azron and went back to looking around. Picking up his bride in one hand, the oni snatched Felis up in the other.

Felis seemed to have no emotion on his face, in a trance from the chanting.

Reval looked up from his writing only for horror to fill his expression, watching Felis being bitten in half by the large beast. Something burned in his chest. Fear? An urge to defend? He couldn't tell. "Wait!"

The beast stopped and swallowed the remnants of the top half of Felis's body in his mouth, dropping the bottom half to the floor with a sickening thud. Carrying his bride over to Reval, he leaned down and got inches from his face. He let out a snarl, as though questioning what his problem was.

The sell of raw meat and blood nearly made Reval retch, but he stood still and gripped his quill tightly. He couldn't move, fear cementing him in place. "N-Nothing." His voice cracked when he saw the remnants of Felis's robes in the oni's sharp teeth.

Something hurt in his chest.

As though he'd been stabbed.

The oni snorted and walked away from Reval, eyeing the group of four men that Azron had selected to escort the Bride and the One to the chambers that had been made up for his arrival. He let out a growl, bellowing at them as though commanding they start walking.

Soon, they left.

Azron clapped with glee and looked over the remaining cult members coming out of the trance. "We have finally achieved success! The prophecy will finally come true!" He seemed so excited, running over to Reval. "Come, I have a new task for you. We must ready the nursery."

Reval took a breath to attempt to stabilize himself. "Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?"

"Silence! Now come with me, you've been given another job."

As they left the room, Reval spied the lower half of Felis's body on the floor. Covering his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his cloak as though it may help block the scent, he knelt down to pick up the folded parchment he saw in the blood splattered pocket. He would read it later.

"Reval, are you coming with me or not?" Azron huffed and crossed his arms, standing at the door and waiting.

Running to catch up with him, Reval panted once he got to Azron. "O-Of course, Master. What is this secondary job you have bestowed upon me?"

Turning a corner as they walked down the hallways, he had a grin on his face. "Why, caring for the Infant when it arrives, of course."


End file.
